Lucas Gabrielsson and Iivari Männistö became the first drivers to turn their advantage into championship glory at Estering on Saturday. Competing in Open 2WD and CrossCar Junior respectively, the two Finns secured their maiden titles by the end of qualifying. Oliver Eriksson will have to wait a few more hours in Open 4WD Pro, while the title fights remain wide open in Supercar Lites and CrossCar.

Tsirna claims his first win as Eriksson closes in

Romet Tsirna picked the perfect moment to claim his first career victory in Open 4WD Pro. Only seventh in the overall intermediate classification across all categories, the Estonian completely turned his day around in the Final, getting the better of Oliver Eriksson and Lukas Andersson in the opening metres.

“It’s quite difficult to put all the emotions I’m feeling right now into words. The day maybe didn’t start as I had hoped. I didn’t really have an issue with the car, but my starts simply weren’t as good as the one I managed in the Final.

“I found myself in traffic during qualifying and never really managed to get a clean run. When I came out of the first corner in the Final and realised I was leading, with no dust in front of me, I mainly tried to bring my heart rate down and stay focused on my driving. It was quite surprising to have managed to take the lead that way.”

Having already caught the eye at Estering two years ago when he charged from fifth to second in CrossCar, Tsirna once again demonstrated his affinity with the German track.

“I really like this circuit. I think it’s unique because it’s extremely narrow. It feels more like a street circuit than a traditional rallycross track. But right now, it’s difficult to find the perfect words to describe how I’m feeling.”

Second in the Final after dominating qualifying, Oliver Eriksson takes his tally to 207 points and maintains a 24-point advantage over Lukas Andersson. The title is not yet mathematically secured, with another 24 points available on Sunday in the absence of Semi-Finals. Nevertheless, the situation remains extremely favourable for the OMSE driver: a single point will be enough to put the title mathematically beyond Andersson’s reach.

Now firmly established in third place in the championship, the Estonian intends to approach the final race with the same sense of freedom.

“I think the key tomorrow will simply be to have fun. Something changed in my approach today. After qualifying, I told myself I would try to enjoy it more because these are now the final races of the season where we can score points. So I’m simply going to try to make the most of this last race and see what happens.”

In the Pro Am Final, Mats Öhman finished ahead of Tobias Daarbak and Viktor Kristensson. René Münnich, meanwhile, claimed victory in the Supercar Final after a particularly intense battle with Öhman, while Mandie August and Bart Bel were both forced to retire.

Lindeqvist limits the damage in Supercar Lites

Alexander Lindeqvist looked set to complete the perfect day in Supercar Lites. Fastest in Q2 and Q3, the Swede topped the intermediate classification before starting the Final from pole position and taking the lead.

His advantage disappeared with two laps remaining. Contact with Roberts Vitols at the start of the third lap sent him straight into the sand trap and brought his race to an end.

“It’s a real shame because, up until then, the day had been perfect. I had qualified first, secured pole position and was leading the Final with only two laps to go.”

Vitols was subsequently excluded from the Final following the incident, handing victory to Mads Larsen, who claimed his second win of the season ahead of Kevin Daarbak and Lindeqvist.

Despite the frustrating outcome, the championship leader scored 20 points thanks to his first place in the intermediate classification, compared with 18 for Daarbak. His advantage therefore increases from four to six points heading into the final race, while Vitols now sits 22 points adrift.

“Of course it’s frustrating, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. The only thing we can do is fight back, keep pushing and do our best,” Lindeqvist said after the Final.

With only four competitors entered and 24 points still available, Lindeqvist remains in a favourable position but cannot afford to simply manage his advantage. His plan for Sunday can be summed up in just a few words: “Send it. That’s what we’ve got to do.”

Gabrielsson finishes the job in Open 2WD

Lucas Gabrielsson needed only five points to become the RallyX North Open 2WD champion. The Finn did not have to wait until the Final to achieve his goal: third in the intermediate classification, he secured his maiden crown at the end of Q3.

Having approached the opening heats cautiously, the Toyota Starlet driver was able to adopt a more aggressive approach once the main objective had been achieved.

“Of course, it was a perfect day. We maybe played it a little too safe in Q1 and Q2. During Q2, my spotter told me that the title was pretty much secured already. From that point onwards, I could clear my head and start pushing again.

“So we pushed hard again in the Semi-Final and the Final. I’m really happy with this season and also very happy to be on the podium again with this third place.”

Gabrielsson built his title campaign on remarkable consistency. Having finished on the podium in each of the first nine races of the season, he now holds a 51-point advantage over Viktor Johansson with only 30 points left to score.

“It wasn’t really about chasing outright performance anymore. It was more about managing the race and taking absolutely no risks. The main objective was simply to keep moving forward, make it into the Final, and here we are.”

Freed from the pressure of the championship battle, Johansson claimed his second consecutive victory following his success at Nysum one week earlier. The Swede topped all three qualifying sessions before winning the Final ahead of Kristof Bex and Gabrielsson.

Just one point separates Isaksætre and Murstad in CrossCar

The CrossCar title fight has never been tighter. Thomas Eek Murstad completed a perfect day by topping qualifying, winning his Semi-Final and then taking victory in the Final. With all 30 available points in the bag, the defending champion claimed his first victory of the season and closed to within a single point of Espen Isaksætre.

Murstad took the win ahead of Joonatan Ylilammi and his main championship rival. Third at the chequered flag, Isaksætre limited the damage by scoring 23 points, but saw his advantage shrink from eight points to just one.

“Yes, it’s obviously very, very intense. Thomas is a very, very good driver. Overall, I’m quite happy with the result we achieved today.

“Of course, I want to win as much as possible. But tomorrow is a new day. We’ll have to look at the videos and try to find a little more speed. In particular, we need to improve our starts and find some more pace in that area.”

Carl Svedlund remains mathematically in contention, but the Swede lost significant ground after being eliminated in the Semi-Finals. Now third in the standings, he trails Isaksætre by 16 points and Murstad by 15.

The final day therefore promises to be particularly tense, but championship leader Isaksætre has no intention of changing his approach.

“I’m not going to start overthinking it. I’ve been in this game for many years now and we know how to deal with this kind of situation. We just have to keep giving everything until the end of Sunday. Only then can we add up the points, see how many we’ve scored and how many our rivals have scored. For now, we simply have to fight tomorrow and then we’ll see where we stand in the championship.”

Männistö crowned as Klaassen continues his rise

Like Gabrielsson, Iivari Männistö settled the championship before the knockout stages had even begun. Fourth in the intermediate classification, the Finn had already built a sufficient advantage to become the new RallyX North CrossCar Junior champion.

After winning his Semi-Final, Männistö went on to finish fourth in the Final. The result was of little consequence for the newly crowned champion, who now holds a 53-point advantage over Sebastian Isaksætre heading into the final race.

Victory went to Pim Klaassen. Fastest in qualifying, the Dutchman won his Semi-Final and the Final to complete a perfect 30-point score, finishing ahead of Matias Toivio and Isaksætre.

Toivio claimed his first podium of the season, while Isaksætre continued his excellent run of form. Winner of the opening race at Nysum before finishing second the following day, the Norwegian has now recorded three consecutive podiums and moves into second place in the championship at the expense of Alex Anttila.

Only two points separate the pair heading into the final race. Klaassen, meanwhile, continues to impress: across all RallyX competitions, the young Dutchman now has three victories and five podiums from five starts this season.

While Gabrielsson and Männistö can now approach the final day without any championship pressure, three titles remain to be decided on Sunday. Eriksson needs just one point in Open 4WD Pro, Lindeqvist must defend a six-point advantage in Supercar Lites, while only a single point separates Isaksætre and Murstad in CrossCar. The RallyX North season still has plenty of unfinished business.